title: A 4-year longitudinal study of the oral prevalence of enteric gram-negative rods and yeasts in Chinese children.
abstract: A 4-year longitudinal study of the oral prevalence of enteric gram-negative rods and yeasts in 116 Chinese primary school children in Hong Kong was conducted. The oral prevalence of enteric gram-negative rods for each consecutive year was 25.3%, 37.0%, 24.0% and 25.8% respectively, with a weighted mean of 27.9%. Enterobacteriaceae, which comprised 57% of all enteric gram-negative rods, were more common in children with no caries experience. The oral prevalence of yeasts for each consecutive year was 7.7%, 12.0%, 14.4% and 15.5% respectively, with a weighted mean of 12.5%. Candida albicans comprised 84% of all yeasts isolated. Oral yeast carriage was significantly associated with caries prevalence. While the oral prevalence of enteric gram-negative rods in primary school children in Hong Kong may be higher than in other parts of the world, repeated isolation of either enteric gram-negative rods or Candida spp. from individual children over the 4-year study period was rare, suggesting that carriage of these organisms is transient.
authors.affiliation: Oral Biology Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Sedgley
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Samaranayake
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D002175:Candida / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002176:Candida albicans; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D009346:Neisseriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011548:Pseudomonadaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000302:isolation & purification